Elon Musk gave an epic one-word response to the European Commission's fine of $140 million because it claimed the social media platform X had failed to control what it labeled "harmful" content, in a brazen move to control free speech.
In a video posted on Friday by the EU tech regulators, it announced that Musk was being fined for the following:
Today, we fined X for non-compliance with transparency obligations under the DSA [Digital Services Act].
We're holding X accountable for:
-Deceptive design of its 'blue checkmark.'
-Lack of transparency of its advertising repository
-Failure to provide access to public data for researchers
Today, we fined X for non-compliance with transparency obligations under the DSA.
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) December 5, 2025
We're holding X accountable for:
🔹Deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark’
🔹Lack of transparency of its advertising repository
🔹Failure to provide access to public data for researchers
↓
READ MORE: Rubio Defends Free Speech, Targets Foreign Officials Policing American Social Media With Visa Bans
Why Does the Left Hate Elon Musk? Because He's the Donald Trump of the Internet.
Musk's simple response couldn't have been more American. Under the EU post, he simply wrote, "Bulls—."
Bullshit
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 5, 2025
In a follow-up post sometime later, Musk included what a threat to democracy this fine was.
Freedom of speech is the bedrock democracy.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 5, 2025
The only way to know what you are voting for.
"Freedom of speech is the bedrock [of] democracy. The only way to know what you are voting for," Musk said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed Musk's comments and concerns. His post has since gone viral with 8 million views and counting.
The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on @X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) December 5, 2025
The days of censoring Americans online are over.
"The European Commission's $140 million fine isn't just an attack on @X, it's an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments," Rubio wrote. "The days of censoring Americans online are over."
U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr also blasted it.
Once again, Europe is fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company.
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) December 5, 2025
Europe is taxing Americans to subsidize a continent held back by Europe’s own suffocating regulations. pic.twitter.com/EzeOWZRC2t
"Once again, Europe is fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company," Carr wrote. "Europe is taxing Americans to subsidize a continent held back by Europe's own suffocating regulations."
Today, we fined X for non-compliance with transparency obligations under the DSA.
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) December 5, 2025
We're holding X accountable for:
🔹Deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark’
🔹Lack of transparency of its advertising repository
🔹Failure to provide access to public data for researchers
↓
While the EU's executive claimed in the video that the fine had nothing to do with "content moderation," even Reuters pointed out that the fine included punishing X, i.e., Musk, for not controlling what it deemed "harmful content" on the platform.
The report read:
The EU sanction against X followed a two-year-long investigation under the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content.
So, yeah, censorship. This is crazy and wrong.
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